CIS PRESIDENTS ENDORSE YELTSIN . . . The 17 May CIS summit in Moscow
ended with a declaration of support for continued political and economic reform
in Russia and President Boris Yeltsin's re-election campaign, Russian and
Western media reported. Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliyev called on Russian
voters to make the "right decision," while Uzbek President Islam Karimov
declared that Yeltsin's opponent, Gennadii Zyuganov, is "completely
unacceptable." Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov referred to Yeltsin as a "wise
and gifted politician." The 11 non-Russian leaders also rejected any move to
restore the Soviet Union. -- Roger Kangas

. . . AND CALL FOR FURTHER INTEGRATION. The CIS leaders agreed to
examine a six-part plan to address economic and trade cooperation, military and
peacekeeping activities, crime fighting measures, border protection, and
greater coordination of foreign policies, ITAR-TASS reported. UN
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali, who addressed the summit, called for
the CIS to increase its ties with the UN, noting that CIS peacekeeping in
Abkhazia and Tajikistan are "positive examples" of the benefits of regional
cooperation. The presidents noted that further cooperation can only take place
voluntarily. President Yeltsin and his Kazakhstani counterpart, Nursultan
Nazarbayev, stressing that other CIS states are not being pressured to join the
Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan customs union, Russian Public TV (ORT)
reported. -- Roger Kangas

YELTSIN ON UKRAINE, BELARUS. Speaking after the CIS summit, President
Yeltsin again refused to set a date for his long-delayed visit to Ukraine,
Russian media reported on 17 May. Yeltsin reaffirmed that he would only go to
Kyiv "for a large-scale political visit" that included the signing of a
"comprehensive treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, which does
not exist yet." He confirmed that the Black Sea Fleet issue continues to block
the conclusion of the treaty, although he expressed hope that the deadlock
would be broken soon. Visiting Omsk on 19 May, Yeltsin mildly rebuked
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, ITAR-TASS reported. Yeltsin said he
had advised Lukashenka to release opposition activists arrested during recent
anti-government demonstrations. "In Russia and the other CIS countries," said
Yeltsin, "people are free to express their opinions and hold meetings." --
Scott Parrish

DUMA FAILS TO OVERRIDE VETO ON ELECTION MONITORING LAW. The State Duma
fell short of the 300 votes needed to override the Federation Council's veto of
a law on election monitoring, ITAR-TASS reported on 17 May. The law would have
allowed private citizens to become election monitors (current law only permits
representatives of political parties to do so), and would have allowed local
courts to declare an election invalid within their jurisdiction. It also
proposed to fund a parallel count in a sample 2% of the districts. The Duma may
appeal to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the law was passed on 17
April but only vetoed by the Council on 15 May. The constitution stipulates
that with a few exceptions, laws not reviewed within two weeks by the Council
are considered approved and sent to the president. -- Laura Belin

YELTSIN PROMISES TO MAINTAIN STABILITY, PLAYS REGIONAL CARD. . .
Campaigning in the Siberian regions of Krasnoyarsk and Omsk, President
Yeltsin played up his role as a guarantor of stability and a provider for his
constituents' needs. In an interview with a Krasnoyarsk television company,
Yeltsin promised not to "surrender the strategic, democratic heights" to forces
opposing reform, NTV reported on 17 May. He told a group of supporters in Omsk,
"I will not allow a civil war under any circumstances," Russian TV (RTR)
reported on 19 May. The same day, the president signed a power-sharing
agreement with the Omsk Oblast administration, and signed a decree to work out
a long-term federal program for the social and economic development of Siberia,
ITAR-TASS reported. -- Laura Belin

. . . AND HINTS OF IMPENDING CABINET RESHUFFLE. In a 19 May interview
with an Omsk television company, President Yeltsin said he might be willing to
appoint "fresher people" to his government in order to increase the public's
confidence, ITAR-TASS reported. "Why not take interesting ideas from [Grigorii]
Yavlinskii?" he asked rhetorically. The move indicates that Yeltsin is willing
to meet some of Yavlinskii's demands for an electoral alliance. He already has
gained the backing of most prominent figures in Russia's "democratic" camp. On
18 May, Yegor Gaidar's party Russia's Democratic Choice officially endorsed
Yeltsin's re-election bid, Russian media reported. -- Laura Belin

MORE ON YAVLINSKII'S DEMANDS. The 18 May edition of Izvestiya
published the full text of the letter Yavlinskii gave President Yeltsin during
their 16 May meeting, which outlined in detail his "non-negotiable" terms for
supporting the president. In addition to calling for an end to the war in
Chechnya and significant changes in economic policy, the letter demanded that
any decrees on economic and defense policy be signed by the prime minister as
well as the president. It also said Yeltsin must accept the resignations of the
prime minister, first deputy prime minister, defense minister, and chief of
staff by 25 May--terms the president is unlikely to accept. Yeltsin said on 17
May that he had offered Yavlinskii the job of first deputy prime minister, but
that Yavlinskii had insisted on more. Appearing on RTR on 19 May, Yavlinskii
denied that he was seeking the post of prime minister for himself or issuing an
"ultimatum" to Yeltsin. -- Laura Belin

RUNOFF TO BE HELD IN ST. PETERSBURG ELECTION. Mayor Anatolii Sobchak and
his former first deputy, Vladimir Yakovlev, will face each other in the runoff
of St. Petersburg's gubernatorial election after the two finished first and
second, respectively, in the first round on 19 May, Russian and Western media
reported. Out of a field of 14 candidates, Sobchak received 28.8% to Yakovlev's
21.8%; turnout was about 49%. Four candidates withdrew from the race the day
before the election, including local Yabloko leader Igor Artemev who threw his
support behind Yakovlev, notorious local ultra-nationalist Yurii Belyaev, and
hard-line Communist Yurii Terentev. The runoff is scheduled for 26 May. Sobchak
won the 1991 mayoral election in the first round with 66% of the vote. -- Anna
Paretskaya

YELTSIN TO VISIT CHECHNYA REGARDLESS OF RISK. President Yeltsin has
reaffirmed his intention to go through with his planned visit to Chechnya,
according to Russian TV (RTR) on 18 May. Also on 18 May, pro-Moscow head of
state Doku Zavgaev said that key questions relating to the Chechen economy and
the 16 June Chechen parliamentary election will be resolved during Yeltsin's
visit, NTV reported. On 17 May, the Duma adopted in principle an amnesty for
both Russian and Chechen fighters in the Chechen war with the exception of
those who perpetrated hostage-takings or terrorist acts, Russian Public TV
(ORT) reported. During talks at an undisclosed location in Chechnya on 16-17
May, acting Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev and OSCE Grozny mission
chairman Tim Guldimann discussed the possibility of Kazakhstani President
Nursultan Nazarbayev acting as mediator between the Russian government and the
separatist Chechen leadership, NTV reported on 18 May. -- Liz Fuller

MORE GOVERNORS SACKED FOR BUDGET MISUSE. President Yeltsin has dismissed
the administration heads of Vologda and Amur oblasts, Nikolai Podgornov and
Vladimir Dyachenko, ITAR-TASS and NTV reported on 17 May. Both governors were
sacked for misusing federal budget funds, violating federal legislation, and
accumulating wage arrears. Podgornov was already suspended from his post in
March. The governors of Saratov and Arkhangelsk oblasts were sacked for the
same reason in February. -- Anna Paretskaya

RUSSIAN-BRITISH ESPIONAGE SCANDAL CLOSED? The ongoing espionage row
between London and Moscow escalated on 17 May when Russia announced the
expulsion of four British diplomats, Russian and Western agencies reported.
Russia claims the expelled diplomats were intelligence agents who were
implicated by a Russian citizen recently arrested on espionage charges. London
immediately retaliated by expelling four Russian diplomats from Britain.
Earlier, Russia had threatened to expel up to nine British diplomats, but
negotiations appear to have produced a compromise. AFP, citing Interfax, quoted
anonymous Russian diplomats as saying Russia regarded the mutual expulsions as
closing the incident. However, on 18 May, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Grigorii Karasin called on London to reconsider its "unjustified and
unacceptable" decision. -- Scott Parrish

RUSSIA OFFERS TO COMPENSATE UKRAINE FOR TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Russia
has agreed to forgive $450 million worth of Ukraine's natural gas and oil debts
as compensation for the tactical nuclear weapons given up by Ukraine in 1991,
Reuters reported on 18 May, citing Ukrainian news agencies. The deal was
supposedly struck by Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Ukrainian
President Leonid Kuchma following the previous day's CIS summit meeting. The
report quoted UNIAN as saying Chernomyrdin made the deal conditional on
Ukrainian agreement to Russian proposals on dividing the former Soviet Black
Sea Fleet, while citing Interfax as saying no progress had been made on this
issue. -- Doug Clarke

REACTIONS TO YELTSIN'S DECREE ON CONSCRIPTION. Responding to what many
view as a campaign maneuver, Communist deputies attacked President Yeltsin's 16
May decree abolishing conscription, Russian agencies reported on 17 May. Duma
Security Committee Chairman Viktor Illyukhin (KPRF)challenged Yeltsin's
authority to decree such a change, arguing that it requires new federal
legislation. Lt. Gen. Mikhail Surkov (KPRF), deputy chairman of the Duma
Defense Committee, said Russia cannot afford a professional army because every
volunteer costs 4-5 times more than a conscript. However, Nikolai Yegorov, head
of the presidential administration, contended on 18 May that the financial
implications of the decree can be covered by the federal budget. Meanwhile,
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin commissioned Defense Minister Pavel Grachev
and other security ministers to begin preparations for the transition to a
professional army. -- Doug Clarke and Constantine Dmitriev

RUSSIAN "DAVOS" FORUM CONVENES. Business and political representatives
from 63 regions gathered in Yekaterinburg on 17 May for the opening of the
"Russian economic forum," sponsored by Sverdlovsk Governor Eduard Rossel. The
meeting formed a new organization, "For the socio-economic progress of Russia,"
which aspires to represent regional interests in Moscow. Little seems to have
emerged by way of concrete proposals, other than the usual calls for tax
reform, respect for the law, and compensation for defrauded investors. Nizhnii
Novgorod Governor Boris Nemtsov told the gathering that the presidential
election is a "nightmare" for the Russian economy, because it has caused a
surge in federal spending, while scaring away foreign investors. -- Peter
Rutland

RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPING MANDATE IN ABKHAZIA EXTENDED. Participants in the
CIS summit in Moscow on 17 May endorsed the agreement taken on 16 May by CIS
foreign ministers to extend for a further two months the mandate of the Russian
peacekeeping troops currently deployed along the border between the breakaway
republic of Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia, Western agencies reported. The
Georgian parliament has for months demanded, without success, that the
peacekeepers' mandate be broadened to enable them to defend ethnic Georgian
refugees who wish to return to their homes in Abkhazia. -- Liz Fuller

GEORGIAN COMMUNISTS UNITE. The Stalinist Communist Party of Georgia
decided on 18 May to unite with the Georgian Communist Party, led by Ivane
Tsiklauri, and part of the United Communist Party, led by Panteleimon
Giorgadze, Iprinda news agency reported same day. The Stalinist party's plenary
session also decided that its leader, Grigol Oniani, would work as acting first
secretary of the new party's central committee until its first congress,
scheduled for 6 September. -- Irakli Tsereteli

RUSSIAN-AZERBAIJANI BORDER AGREEMENT. President Yeltsin and his
Azerbaijani counterpart, Heidar Aliev, signed an agreement in Moscow on 17 May
aimed at strengthening border controls between Dagestan and Azerbaijan, AFP
reported, citing Interfax. The agreement covers information exchanges; joint
measures to fight terrorism, arms and drug trafficking, and illegal immigration
into Russia; and the joint training of border troops. It is not clear whether
the agreement provides for the deployment Russian troops on Azerbaijani
territory. -- Liz Fuller

CONFUSION CONTINUES IN TAJIKISTAN. Sixty-four government soldiers are
reported to have been killed during heavy fighting near the town of
Komsomolabad in the Tavil-Dara region on 15-16 May, according to NTV. Tajik
Interior Ministry troops and members of the CIS peacekeeping force have set up
checkpoints on the road from Komsomolabad to Dushanbe. Meanwhile, the
demonstrations in the northern Tajik cities of Khojent, Ura-Tyube, Shakhristan,
and Isfana appear to have ended, RFE/RL reported on 18 May. The protesters
demanded the equal distribution of humanitarian aid, an adequate supply of
food, and the removal of local government officials. About 75 officials in the
north are reported to have been replaced already. In other news, AFP reported
on 19 May that the Tajik opposition has agreed to extend the ceasefire that was
due to expire on 26 May. -- Bruce Pannier

TWO UKRAINIAN DEPUTIES KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT. Serhii Drahomaretsky and
Mykhaylo Myaskovsky, two members of the Ukrainian legislature from the Odessa
region, were killed in a car accident outside Kyiv on the night of 16 May,
UNIAR and ITAR-TASS reported. Drahomaretsky was the chairman of the Supreme
Council Control Commission on Privatization and Myaskovsky, first secretary of
the Odessa regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and a member of
the Supreme Council on Foreign Affairs and CIS Relations. The two men were on
their way to Odessa to participate in a session of that city's council. --
Roger Kangas

CRIMEAN TATARS COMMEMORATE 1944 DEPORTATION. Some 20,000 Tatars
demonstrated in the streets of Simferopol on 18 May to mark the 52nd
anniversary of Stalin's order to deport them to Central Asia, international
media reported. More than 200,000 Tatars have returned to Crimea in recent
years, but rally organizers noted that they no longer have a homeland and are a
minority in Crimea. Demonstrators called for creating a Crimean Tatar state
within an independent Ukraine. Statements were also made in support of Chechen
independence, with some demonstrators carrying Chechen flags and portraits of
slain Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudaev. Reuters on 18 May reported that the
Ukrainian government has approved an additional $20 million aid package for
Tatar resettlement. Ukrainian officials have stressed, however, that the issue
should be a policy concern for Russia, Uzbekistan, and other states as well. --
Roger Kangas

BELARUSIAN HUNGER STRIKER RELEASED. Belarusian Popular Front leader
Vyachaslau Siuchyk, who has been hospitalized since 15 May owing to kidney
failure caused by a hunger strike, was released from prison on 17 May, Reuters
reported. Siuchyk has been charged with organizing a rally last month to
protest the pro-Russian policies of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Those
charges have not been dropped, and he has been ordered not to leave Minsk. The
Belarus Prosecutor's Office said the release of his BPF colleague Yury Khadyka,
who is still on a hunger strike, will be discussed today. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin, campaigning in the Siberian city of Omsk on 19 May, said he has
had to give Lukashenka a lesson in democracy, adding that he asked him to
release all those arrested in connection with the April rally. -- Saulius
Girnius

DISPUTE OVER ESTONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH SETTLED. The Patriarchates of
Moscow and Constantinople on 16 May agreed to restore relations severed by
Moscow after Constantinople announced in February that the Autonomous Estonian
Orthodox Church would come under its jurisdiction, Western agencies reported
the next day. The Constantinople patriarchate agreed to impose a four-month
moratorium on its jurisdiction declaration. During this period, congregations
in Estonia will have to decide to which patriarchate they wish to belong. The
decisions of those congregations that have already made a decision will remain
in effect. Although 54 of the 84 congregations have expressed support for
Constantinople, more than two-thirds of believers belong to those favoring
Moscow. -- Saulius Girnius

LATVIA'S UNITY PARTY TO RETURN TO RULING COALITION. Latvia's Unity Party
(LVP) on 17 May decided to revoke its earlier decision to quit the ruling
coalition, BNS reported. Chairman Alberts Kauls, whose firing as agriculture
minister prompted the party's decision to quit, is a member of a commission set
up to meet with Prime Minister Andris Skele to discuss the LVP's conditions for
remaining in the coalition. Those stipulations include allowing the LVP to
retain the Agriculture Ministry, transferring the Hipoteku un Zemes Banka to
the Agriculture Ministry's jurisdiction, reorganizing the ministry, and
protecting local market from foreign agricultural imports. -- Saulius Girnius

CONGRESS OF LITHUANIAN DEMOCRATIC LABOR PARTY. The first part of the
Sixth Congress of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party (LDDP) on 18 May
elected Seimas Chairman Ceslovas Jursenas as the party's new chairman, RFE/RL's
Lithuanian Service reported the next day. Jursenas defeated Seimas Agriculture
Committee Chairman Mykolas Pronckus by a vote of 330 to 82. Former chairman
Adolfas Slezevicius resigned in February after being dismissed as prime
minister. Jursenas said the party faces a serious challenge in the upcoming
parliament elections in October Current budgetary problems could force the
government to make unpopular decisions, and candidates should be willing to
admit the party's mistakes, he noted. The second part of the congress, to be
held in September, will decide which members run in the elections. -- Saulius
Girnius

POLAND TO JOIN OECD LATER THIS YEAR. Polish Deputy Prime Minister and
Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko on 17 May announced Poland will receive an
invitation in July to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). Formal membership is to be granted in October,
Rzeczpospolita reported. At a press conference in Warsaw on 17 May,
Kolodko said Poland has met all the conditions for membership, except for
passing new legislation on a banking code of secrecy and on allowing financial
authorities to have access to companies' book-keeping accounts. A bill on both
matters was recently adopted by the lower house of the parliament and is
expected to be approved by the Senate soon. Kolodko said OECD membership will
be a "giant step toward the European Union." -- Dagmar Mroziewicz

POPULARITY OF POLAND'S EX-COMMUNISTS GROWS. According to a recent
opinion poll conducted by the Warsaw-based CBOS agency, the popularity of the
Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) is increasing. Of those respondents who said
they would vote if elections were held now, 23% opted for the former
Communists, who are also a member of the ruling coalition. In March and April,
19% favored the SLD. The CBOS commented that the party appeared to have
recovered from the negative impact of the spy allegations against its leader,
former Prime Minister Jozef Oleksy. The poll also revealed that 13% of
potential voters would support the right-wing Movement for the Reconstruction
of Poland and 12% would cast their ballot in favor of the Polish Peasant Party.
The centrist Union for Freedom (UW), now the biggest opposition party in the
parliament, received 8% support and the Solidarity Union 10%. -- Dagmar
Mroziewicz

CZECH EDUCATION FOR ROMA CRITICIZED. The Prague-based Citizen's
Solidarity and Tolerance Movement (HOST) has issued a report on the state of
Romani education in the Czech Republic, CTK reported on 17 May. The report's
main criticism is that the government has failed to address inequities in the
education system. An earlier press release from HOST revealed that the 80-page
report targets seven areas: de facto segregation in special schools,
where Roma are labeled retarded; violence against Romani children; teachers'
lack of response to racism in class; lack of funding for Romani education; lack
of access for Roma to higher education; the absence of Romani teachers; and the
lack of state resolve to address the situation. -- Alaina Lemon

SLOVAK POLICEMAN'S FAMILY ACCUSE SECRET SERVICE. The family of Robert
Remias, who was killed in a car explosion on 29 April, has accused the Slovak
secret service (SIS) of being responsible for his death, Slovak and
international media reported. Remias's parents told the media that their son--a
friend of a key witness in the case of the abduction of President Michal
Kovac's son--had been shadowed by the SIS constantly in the days leading up to
his death. They accused SIS Director Ivan Lexa of hiding the truth about Kovac
Jr.'s kidnapping and having their son's death on his conscience, adding that
Prime Minister Vladmir Meciar also bore responsibility. The Slovak government
has brought charges against two priests and a journalist who, at a memorial
service for Remias last week, publicly accused the SIS and government circles
of murdering him. -- Steve Kettle

MOSCOW PATRIARCH IN SLOVAKIA. Aleksii II on 17 May began a four-day
visit to Slovakia, Slovak and international media reported. On 19 May, he
conducted a service in the east Slovak town of Presov, which was attended by
more than 20,000 people, including President Michal Kovac. The Moscow patriarch
also dedicated a church in Michalovce and held a memorial service in Svidnik
for 4,000 Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of Slovakia in World
War II. -- Steve Kettle

CONTINUED CONTROVERSY OVER HUNGARIAN PREMIER'S PROPOSAL FOR INVESTIGATIVE
OFFICE. With no compromise reached between the coalition parties over Gyula
Horn's plan to set up a central investigative office to curb black economy
activity, tension between the Socialist Party and the Alliance of Free
Democrats (SZDSZ) is increasing, Hungarian dailies reported on 18 May.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Interior Minister Gabor Kuncze (SZDSZ) is
considering resigning if he is unable to push through his version of the plan,
Magyar Hirlap reported on 20 May. Last week, Kuncze vetoed Horn's
proposal, but the premier is insisting on going ahead with the costly plan. The
SZDSZ stressed again that it is in favor of improving the efficiency of
existing organizations instead of setting up a new office. A similar coalition
dispute occurred last fall when the SZDSZ refused to approve Horn's plans to
create new positions in the government and to introduce personnel changes. Horn
was eventually forced to withdraw those plans. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

IS KARADZIC STEPPING DOWN? Bosnian Serb leader and indicted war criminal
Radovan Karadzic announced this weekend that he was giving up some of his
duties as Bosnian Serb president to concentrate on such domestic issues as
refugees and the economy, international and local agencies reported on 19 May.
Karadzic delegated some of his powers, including contacts with the
international community, to Vice President Biljana Plavsic, a hard-liner known
as the "Iron Lady of the Bosnian Serbs." While the rump Yugoslav news agency
Tanjug reported that Karadzic has stepped down as Bosnian Serb president, the
Bosnian Serb agency SRNA reported that he has only delegated some of his
functions. Meanwhile, the international community's High Representative for
Bosnia Carl Bildt visited Pale on 19 May to clarify controversial reports on
Karadzic's resignation. He noted that Karadzic appeared to be withdrawing from
"public life," AFP reported. -- Daria Sito Sucic

HARD-LINER ENDORSED AS BOSNIAN SERB PREMIER. The Bosnian Serb parliament
on 18 May endorsed Karadzic's dismissal of Rajko Kasagic, the moderate Bosnian
Serb prime minister supported by the international community (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 16 and 17 May 1996). Deputies also approved his replacement by
Gojko Klickovic, a hard-liner who oversaw the exodus earlier this year of the
Sarajevo Serbs, which was marred by massive looting and arson, AFP reported on
18 May. In his first statement to reporters, Klickovic opposed setting up a
single Bosnian state, which is stipulated in the Dayton peace accord. AFP on 19
May quoted him as saying that "integration within Bosnia is out of the
question." Klickovic also said that the Bosnian Serb people will "never allow"
Karadzic to be sent for trial to The Hague-based war crimes tribunal because
"there is no reason for him to go there." -- Daria Sito Sucic

BOSNIAN SERBS PLAY FOR TIME. The scenes of the past weekend were
familiar to those who have long followed the Bosnian conflict: an international
negotiator met in a series of sessions with Bosnian Serb leaders, Serbian
President Slobodan Milosevic, and then the Bosnian Serbs again. He never
received a direct answer to his main demand--in this case, that Karadzic be
dumped as president--but rather a series of promises that seemed to go at least
part way to achieving that end. Bildt was told, among other things, that
Karadzic would "be neither seen nor heard," that a referendum would be held,
and that Plavsic would take over his international obligations. Karadzic,
however, has no foreign duties because no representative from abroad is
supposed to meet with the indicted war criminal. The Dayton agreement,
moreover, says clearly that he has no political future and that Milosevic is
obliged to help hunt him down and bring him to justice. Much of Bosnian opinion
regards the latest moves from Pale as "cosmetic," Oslobodjenje reported
on 20 May. -- Patrick Moore

SERBS FACE HURDLES IN GOING HOME TO SARAJEVO. The anti-nationalist
Serbian Civic Council (SGV), which remained loyal to the Bosnian government
throughout the war, says that several legal difficulties stand in the way of
Serbs wanting to live in Sarajevo again. Many of these people were among the
60,000 who were pressured by the Bosnian Serb authorities into abandoning their
flats and houses earlier this year but who now want to go back after spending
months in makeshift camps. The SGV says that they have difficulty in obtaining
Bosnian passports and that their flats have been occupied by Muslim refugees
from Srebrenica and Zepa, Onasa noted on 18 May. A group of independent
intellectuals charged that all three sides are practicing "silent ethnic
cleansing" and point to Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and both parts of Mostar as
examples, Oslobodjenje noted on 20 May. Elsewhere, the SGV joined Muslim
parties in criticizing the current election rules for Mostar, saying that they
make it impossible for 90% of the Serbs from there to vote because refugees are
barred from the ballot. -- Patrick Moore

BOSNIAN SERB GENERAL DIES IN BELGRADE. Bosnian Serb Gen. Djordje Djukic
died in Belgrade's military medical academy on 18 May. According to a statement
issued by the Bosnian Serb military authorities, Djukic died after "being ill
and exhausted by the trial in The Hague," Reuters reported. He was 62 years old
and had appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia on charges relating to his role in the 43-month siege of Sarajevo.
The general, who had pleaded not guilty, was released by The Hague on
compassionate grounds and allowed to return to his family in Belgrade. A
doctors' report concluded that Djukic's terminal pancreatic cancer had reached
an advanced stage. Djukic, a logistics officer, was captured by the Bosnian
government on 30 January 1996. -- Stan Markotich

POPE'S VISIT TO SLOVENIA. John Paul II concluded his first-ever visit to
Slovenia on 19 May by celebrating Mass in Maribor with an estimated 120,000
worshippers. The previous day, he celebrated his 76th birthday in the nation's
capital. Slovenian political leaders thanked the pontiff for supporting
Slovenia's independence, noting that the Vatican was among the first states to
recognize Slovenia as an independent country. Finally, John Paul donated
$50,000 to the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia to enable it to assist
refugees from the wars throughout the former Yugoslavia, international media
reported on 18 May. -- Stan Markotich

BULGARIA'S "BLACK FRIDAY." Bulgaria's ongoing financial and economic
crisis peaked yet again on 17 May when two banks were placed under the
Bulgarian National Bank's administration, Bulgarian media reported. BNB
Governor Lyubomir Filipov announced that the First Private Bank and the
state-controlled Mineral Bank were being "placed under special supervision
owing to the real possibility of insolvency." Meanwhile, local media reported
that consumers triggered a panic on what was dubbed "Black Friday," trying to
withdraw all assets from the defunct banks. The following day, Kontinent
reported that following the banks' insolvency, a major restructuring of the
banking system cannot be avoided. Premier Zhan Videnov, speaking on state TV
and radio, pledged financial reforms and asked for "backing from the whole of
society." The government has already drawn up a plan for economic reform,
including the closure of some 64 unprofitable firms. -- Stan Markotich

ALBANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER IN GREECE. Safet Zhulali arrived in Athens on
19 May for talks with his Greek counterpart, Gerassimos Arsenis, and President
Kostis Stephanopoulos, AFP reported. The talks are to focus on military
cooperation within the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace. Zhulali will
also visit Greek military facilities. Meanwhile, hundreds of Albanian
immigrants began returning from Greece to vote in the 26 May elections; their
number is expected to increase by the thousands. The Greek police have supplied
them with special border-crossing permits, and travel agencies have increased
the number of buses traveling to Albania and reduced fares. Some 250,000
Albanian immigrants are currently working in Greece. Finally, Albania and
Greece on 17 May signed a framework agreement on legalizing the status of the
mostly illegal immigrants. It will take effect in September, after four
Greek-language schools have opened in southern Albania. -- Fabian Schmidt

ALBANIAN SOCIALIST LEADER CAMPAIGNS FROM JAIL CELL. Albanian Socialist
Party leader Fatos Nano has sent a letter to Albanian dailies urging voters to
oust the Democratic Party in the elections, Reuters reported on 19 May. Nano
said the Socialists will guarantee "liberty and security." He accused President
Sali Berisha of abusing his powers and of running a "banana republic." Nano
still has three years to serve for misappropriating funds, but the Socialists
say he is a political prisoner. Meanwhile the Democratic Party organized a pop
music and fashion show spectacle for 30,000 people at a Tirana stadium on 19
May. The same day, the road to Shkoder was blocked for hours by demonstrators
hoping to prevent Socialist leaders from going there, but none of those leaders
showed up. -- Fabian Schmidt